Portugal v France: Deschamps aiming to correct mistakes

Didier Deschamps wants his France side to "correct their mistakes" from the end of last season in their upcoming friendly against Portugal.

Published

2 September 2015

After losing three of their last four games, France manager Didier Deschamps has demanded his side show desire and aggression in their international friendly against Portugal.

The Euro 2016 hosts travel to Lisbon on the back of two losses in June - to Belgium and Albania respectively - and Deschamps is looking for an immediate improvement.

"We must resume our journey for Euro 2016, and we must get back our form," said Deschamps.

"The last stage was a disappointment, in terms of content and results, so we have to correct the mistakes, because we have the quality to do so.

"Let's play games with level selections, the first of which against Portugal, in which we must regain our momentum, will and aggression.

"We want to erase the image left in the game against Albania because, despite being a particular game, we must be aware of the requirements existing at the international level."

Deschamps could be set to hand Manchester United's new signing Anthony Martial an international debut in Friday's clash, having called the forward up to the senior squad for the first time.

And Nabil Fekir, who himself only debuted in March, has backed his former Lyon team-mate to star on the international stage, as well as in the Premier League following his move for a reported fee that could reach €80million.

"Anthony is a very good player, I think he will be one of the best," Fekir told Europe1.

"Of course, this is a very large [transfer] sum. We know that clubs like that are able to put that kind of money for good players."

France last played against Portugal in October last year, with goals from Karim Benzema and Paul Pogba sealing a 2-1 triumph.

Fernando Santos' men have done significantly better than their opponents since their last meeting, winning seven games since - including four Euro 2016 Qualifiers - which has seen them rise to the top of Group I.